Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

I love the website for The Eat Clean Diet. The featured recipe today was this soup that I must try. Thanks to one of my staff, I have a new soup pot to make tons of soup. Now if only I could find the containers to put them all in and freeze them. I'm guessing I'll have to run out and buy more LOL

YIELD: 10 servings
PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes
COOKING TIME: 70 minutes

Details

This soup, full of roasted seasonal vegetables and savory herbs, will really warm you up on a cold day! Perfect for sharing with family and friends, Roasted Root Vegetable Soup from The Eat-Clean Diet® Cookbook is an excellent complement to any meal.

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp / 60 ml best quality olive oil
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 large, sweet carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 small turnip, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 large cooking onion, peeled and cut into rings
• 1 head of garlic, loose skins removed and tops cut off
• 1 medium swede or rutabaga, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 cups / 2 L low-sodium stock, either chicken or vegetable
• Several fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup / 240 ml fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp / 5 ml crumbled, dried thyme
• 1 tsp / 5 ml rosemary, fresh if possible

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°F / 163°C. Pour half of the olive oil into the bottom of a roasting pan. Place all vegetables in the roasting pan and coat with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss bay leaves on top.

2. Cover vegetables with a layer of parchment and place in the over for 30 minutes. Then, remove parchment paper from the vegetables and let roast for another 30 minutes. You will have to mix the veggies occasionally to roast them all properly.

3. Remove vegetables from oven. Remove any black bits and bay leaves, squeeze garlic out of its skin, and purée roasted vegetables in batches in a food processor or blender. Use the stock to help the process along; adding a cup of stock will make the blending easier.

4. Place all puréed vegetables in a large soup pan or Dutch oven and set over low heat on the stove. Add remaining stock, basil, cilantro, thyme and rosemary.

5. Bring soup to gentle simmer and adjust seasonings. If you find the soup too thick, simply stir in more stock and reheat. Serve in heated bowls with a sprig of rosemary or chives on each bowl for garnish.